The Rusty Battle Axe: Montporte Dungeon Campaign Session 44 Notes

Douglas Cole (Gaming Ballistic) has an excellent summary of this session in Montporte 44 - Attunement and Grimlocks.

The Cast of Characters
Adzeer Mattiu, Hunter of the Second Circle (Half Orc, Hunter): Tim (Gothridge Manor)
Breena Honey-Badger Warrick (Gnome, Barbarian): Joshua (Tales of the Rambling Bumblers)
Dante Rathburn (Human, Warlock): Chris (The Clash of Spear on Shield)
Luven Lightfinger (Human, Rogue): Rob (Bat in the Attic)
Nosphryc Azurecoat (Human, Fighter): Douglas (Gaming Ballistic)
13 Rescued Gnomes (Abel; Dilrod; Dwemmon; Ernst; Evinrude; Fern; Fernando; Gemflower; Happenstance; Homer; Priscilla; Rosepetal; Zelma Lynn)

Map A (1 square = 5 feet)

The Session
At the end of the last session, the brave adventurers were counting the contents of the piles of gold and silver bars they had obtained after defeating two of four hobgoblins and two trolls. Two of the hobgoblins had managed to teleport away, but the party still came away with a lot of gold and silver [solidifying the reputation of hobgoblins as the ATM machines of the Montporte Dungeon].

The party decided to further explore this level, which was at least 28 miles below the earth's surface. They were not sure of this as there was a teleport involved in Session 37. Since teleporting, the party is not actually sure of where they are or how to return to the known area of the Montporte Dungeon and the earth's surface.

Starting in Area 1 (Map A above) the party moved south and into Room 2. Here they found a shallow pool of very clear water. Using the Lens of Melnar, they determined that the water was not magical, but the stone forming the pool basin was enchanted. The stone had the ability to purify water, so the party used the opportunity to fill up on drinking water.

The party continued to move south into Room 3 (Map A above). This room had 6 rusty eye bolts built into the walls, about 3 feet above the floor. There were three bolts on the west wall and three bolts on the east wall. While investigating the bolts and looking for secret doors, the party noticed that the floor was quite worn underneath each eye bolt. They finally determined that this room was used as a stable for mounts and pack animals of some kind.

The party then moved back north to Area 1 (Map A above) then west to Room 4. This room was thick with dust and cobwebs, but there was a clearly identifiable foot path through it from Area 1 to Room 5, with the appearance of a lesser amount of traffic towards Area 13.

The party moved through Room 5 to Room 6 then south into Room 7. They could still see evidence of considerable foot traffic heading into all the corridors and rooms they encountered. The party moved into Room 8, where they were attacked by eleven grimlocks. The grimlocks had a well-conceived, but poorly executed, ambush waiting for the party. Grimlocks have lots of stealth but little smarts.

As melee ensued in Room 8, with the grimlocks being overmatched (despite their numerical superiority), a second wave of ten grimlocks swarmed towards the rear of the party from Area 9 through Room 7 (Map A above). The party was surrounded but this worked to their advantage, as it allowed all the party members to unleash their attacks on a larger number of foe. Had the grimlocks individually been tougher, the brave adventurers would have been in real trouble. Instead, the two front battle just sped up the process of dispatching grimlocks.

At the end of the battle, the remaining four grimlocks tried to flee, triggering some attacks of opportunity. Two more grimlocks went down, but two fled the scene. Luven was able to track down the final two in Area 10 (Map A above), with Nosphryc coming along behind him.

Besides a lot of small sacks of nasty meat, the grimlocks had a pink diamond (worth 5,000 gold pieces) and a mind flayer stuff doll of unknown use. The party couldn't figure out if it was a toy, a religious item, or something else.

The party continued into Room 11 (Map A above), which turned out to be a long irregular room with a vaulted ceiling. They guessed that this was the actual lair of the grimlocks, based on the amount of fecal matter along the east wall.

The party moved through Room 12, back into Room 8. Here they decided they would spend a long rest, with a pile of grimlock bodies serving as a partial barrier in the narrow corridor heading east out of the room. The long rest was uneventful, except for the distant scream heard during the second watch. The party had determined that, once the long rest was completed, they would explore Area 13, which appeared to be the only unexplored area on this level.

This is where the session ended.

The Dungeon So Far